WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, presumptive chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for the 116th Congress, today announced his permanent tax, trade and oversight and investigations staffs. Grassley earlier announced his permanent health policy staff.
Tax Policy Staff
Mark Warren, Chief Tax Counsel
Eric Oman, Deputy Chief Tax Policy Advisor
Chris Conlin, Tax Counsel
Chris Allen, Senior Advisor for Benefits and Exempt Organizations
Andre Barnett, Tax Counsel
Nicholas Wyatt, Tax, Infrastructure and Nominations Policy Advisor
Alex Monié, Professional Staff
Trade Policy Staff
Nasim Fussell, Chief International Trade Counsel
Brian Bombassaro, International Trade Counsel
Andrew Brandt, International Trade Policy Advisor
Rory Heslington, International Trade Policy Advisor
Oversight and Investigations Staff
DeLisa Ragsdale, Chief Investigative Counsel
Joshua Flynn-Brown, Senior Investigative Counsel
Dario Camacho, Investigative Counsel
Caitlin Soto, Investigative Counsel
Daniel Parker, Investigator
“Iowans and the American people are fortunate to have an experienced and highly-qualified staff working on their behalf,” Grassley said. “My top priorities as chairman will include increasing access to affordable, quality health care, implementing re-negotiated trade deals, making permanent and building on the historic tax reform passed last Congress, and increasing transparency and accountability in government. We have the chance to make real progress. I look forward to working with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis to get the job done.”
Tax Policy Staff Biographies
Mark Warren has served as Senior Tax Counsel to Sen. John Thune (R-SD) since 2017 and advised on all aspects of federal taxation as well as trade matters. Prior to that position, Warren served as Tax Counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means from 2012 through 2016 under Chairmen Dave Camp, Paul Ryan and Kevin Brady, where he worked primarily on tax reform. His other professional experience includes Vice President of Tax and Finance at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Legislative Affairs, and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee. Warren began his career as an associate in private practice with Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett in New York and Sidley and Austin in Washington, D.C. Warren earned a degree in business from Georgetown University, his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law.
Eric Oman has served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Tax & Accounting on the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee since 2015. In that role, Oman advised the chairman on a wide range of tax policy issues including those involving international and domestic business tax issues, tax accounting rules, and tax administration. Prior to his service on the Finance Committee, Oman served as the tax and budget legislative assistant for Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY). Prior to his tenure on Capitol Hill, Oman was an executive director in the international tax services practice at Ernst & Young LLP. Oman is a certified public accountant and earned a business degree and an MBA from Indiana University.
Chris Conlin has served as Tax Counsel to Sen. Grassley since 2012. In addition to working on tax policy for Sen. Grassley, Conlin has handled other legislative issues including banking, small business, Social Security, pensions and general economic issues. Prior to working for Sen. Grassley, Conlin worked as a Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee between 2011 and 2012 and was the research assistant for the Senate Finance Committee Republican tax staff from 2009 to 2011. Conlin received his B.A. in political science from the University of Iowa in 2004 and his J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in 2010.
Chris Allen has served as the tax and benefits policy advisor for the committee since joining in early 2018. In this position, he focuses on employee benefits, employment taxation and tax-exempt organizations. Allen was formerly senior economic policy advisor to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). Prior to working for Sen. Roberts, Allen was a strategic and public policy consultant. He has served as the director of government relations for the Financial Accounting Foundation and the director of federal relations for the National Association of State Treasurers for nearly a decade. Allen received his B.A. from Loyola College in Maryland and his M.A. in Government from Johns Hopkins University.
Andre Barnett joined the staff of the Senate Finance Committee in 2018 as Tax Counsel and has worked on corporate, international and various individual tax issues. Before joining the Senate Finance Committee, Barnett worked in the transaction tax group at Ernst & Young LLP where he focused on the tax aspects of corporate transactions, including U.S. and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. Prior to that, Barnett worked at Grant Thornton where he advised both public and private companies on issues related to both corporate and partnership mergers and acquisitions. Barnett began his career as a tax attorney in private practice in North Carolina. Barnett received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, his J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, and his L.L.M from Georgetown University Law Center.
Nicholas Wyatt has served as the Tax, Infrastructure and Nominations Professional Staff on the majority staff of the Senate Finance Committee since 2017 and served in previous roles on the committee since 2005. In this role, Wyatt has been responsible for the vetting of all presidential nominees referred to the committee, as well as for advising the chairman on many tax issues including the highway and airport and airway trust funds. Wyatt holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rochester and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University.
Alex Monié has served as Professional Staff with the Senate Finance Committee since April of 2017. Before that, Monié served as Legislative Correspondent for Rep. Clay Higgins (LA-03) and as Majority Staff Assistant for the Committee on Ways and Means. He earned his B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from Mississippi State University.
Trade Policy Staff Biographies
Nasim Fussell previously served as Deputy Chief International Trade Counsel under former Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT). She came to the committee from Pitney Bowes, where she was Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs. Before joining Pitney Bowes, Fussell served as Trade Counsel to the House Committee on Ways and Means, where she worked under Chairmen Camp, Ryan and Brady to help advance trade promotion authority (TPA), customs, preferences and miscellaneous tariff legislation. She has also held positions at General Motors, where she was a customs attorney; the U.S. Council for International Business, where she was the customs and trade facilitation policy director; and the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she was a law clerk in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration. Nasim holds an L.L.M. in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School, a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan.
Brian Bombassaro joined the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance as international trade counsel in October 2017. From 2012 to 2017, Bombassaro was an associate at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC, where he worked in investor-state arbitration, sovereign finance, and international trade. Bombassaro has a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served on the Yale Law Journal, an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School, and B.S.B.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of Florida.
Andrew Brandt previously served as a legislative assistant for Sen. Chuck Grassley where he focused on policy issues including international trade, energy, agriculture, financial services and the environment. He has previously worked for Rep. Randy Neugebauer (TX-19), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency and Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO). Brandt is originally from Concordia, Missouri, where he and his brothers represent the fourth generation on a family farm that is still operating today. Brandt received his M.B.A from the University of Virginia and his B.S. from the University of Missouri.
Rory Heslington joined the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in 2015. Prior to joining the Committee on Finance, Heslington spent 10 years working in the areas of business development, market research and political polling. Heslington earned his M.B.A. from the University Of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and his B.S. in Political Science and International Relations from Utah Valley University.
Oversight and Investigations Staff Biographies
DeLisa Ragsdale previously served as chief investigative counsel for Chairman Grassley on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Oversight and Investigations Unit. Before working on Capitol Hill, she practiced law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Ragsdale received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. in government and politics from the University of Texas at Dallas where she graduated summa cum laude and was a Eugene McDermott Scholar.
Joshua Flynn-Brown previously served as a senior investigative counsel for Chairman Grassley on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Oversight and Investigations Unit. Before working in the O&I unit, he worked in Chairman Grassley’s Nominations Unit. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, he practiced law in the private sector and worked at a Military Law Institute located at Chapman University. Flynn-Brown received his J.D. from Chapman University School of Law and his B.A. in political science and legal studies from Chapman University.
Dario Camacho previously served as investigator on the Committee on the Judiciary’s Oversight and Investigations Unit and as a Law Clerk in the Judiciary Committee’s nominations unit. Over the past two years, while a law student, he also worked in the oversight, civil and criminal units of the Judiciary Committee. Camacho received his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and his B.A. from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Caitlin Soto previously served as health oversight counsel and deputy chief oversight counsel for recently retired Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Before working on Capitol Hill, she worked at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein, and Fox P.L.L.C on matters concerning challenges to abbreviated new drug applications. Soto received her J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America and her B.S. in business administration and finance from American University.
Daniel Parker previously served as investigator for the majority on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and has an A.B. in Government from Cornell University.
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